Edward Derwinski recalls his education in Chicago; becoming a Republican; serving in the Army, U.S. House of Representatives, and as a delegate to the UN General Assembly; working in the State Department during the Reagan presidency; and serving in George H. W. Bush’s Cabinet as the first Secreta...

Fred McClure recalls his work with Senator John Tower (R.-TX) and as special assistant to President Reagan in Congressional relations (including the 1986 tax reform and nominations of William Rehnquist to chief justice and Antonin Scalia as associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court). McClure re...

James Pinkerton describes his work as a young Republican operative with Lee Atwater leading up to the 1988 presidential campaign, his role as the Bush campaign’s director of research, working with George W. Bush, and serving as director of policy during the transition. He views the George H. W. B...

A former advertising director for the 1984 Reagan campaign, Sigmund Rogich describes his work with Roger Ailes in producing campaign ads for the 1988 Bush campaign, including the “Revolving Door,” which highlighted Michael Dukakis’s prison furlough program. Rogich also reflects on speechwriter Pe...

Dennis Ross, the Director of Policy Planning in the State Department, discusses foreign policy issues in the Middle East during the first two years of George H. W. Bush’s presidency. Ross describes in detail behind-the-scenes diplomacy leading up to the Gulf War.